Related
Given the law about releasing the source for their OS implementation, I.e. kernel and hardware drivers, when do we expect to have the 2.1 source, giving us a feel for the 2.2 implementation? Should have released the 2.1 by now for the 70 and 101....
EDIT: Looks like Android 2.2.1 (Firmware 2.0.54) was released Nov 30, 2010 - so we should expect to see the source for it by the end of this year.
EDIT: Looks like the source has been released - http://www.archos.com/support/download/software/sources/gen8-gpl-froyo.tgz
Now we need someone with good Linux abilities to start helping us compile a custom kernel.....
Sent with my fingertips and voice on my Evo
no custom kernel till we get rooted for the phone...once we get rooted we can do watever to it..im gonna have me a ball with this once we do...lmao
txtmikhail said:
no custom kernel till we get rooted for the phone...once we get rooted we can do watever to it..im gonna have me a ball with this once we do...lmao
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does the SDE not look attractive? We have root that way and can do kernels and such....
But I would rather have FULL root (NAND unlocked like we do with HTC phones) enabling us to fully take over the device - instead of essentially a dual boot environment that leaves the stock build on the device and takes up space....
There seem to be some people who think we can't unlock NAND - and don't see why we would want to.
Sent with my fingertips and voice on my Evo
jerdog said:
So does the SDE not look attractive? We have root that way and can do kernels and such....
But I would rather have FULL root (NAND unlocked like we do with HTC phones) enabling us to fully take over the device - instead of essentially a dual boot environment that leaves the stock build on the device and takes up space....
There seem to be some people who think we can't unlock NAND - and don't see why we would want to.
Sent with my fingertips and voice on my Evo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont know much about the SDE but i know i dont want to install it. with a lil work and time i think we can get this thing fully rooted .. The kernel
is most important to me cuz this thing needs to be overclocked to atleast 1.2ghz..
you don't want to fully root and reformat everything and may brick your device. it's just not worth it.
use the SDE: install custom kernel and if your satisfied remove default kernel and it will boot only custom kernel (until you install any archos firmware again)
with SDE you can use full internal storage (kernel is stored in another very little flash chip: /dev/mmcblk0, mmcblk1 = internal storage, mmcblk2 = sdcard), reformat it and install and do whatever you want. if you're not satisfied, start in recovery mode reformat the device and start all over again or install the archos firmware again. no real chance to brick your device.
why would anyone try to brick his device if he has full device access for free?
@topic building custom kernel and cross compile some linux libraries is quite easy, I'll post an HowTo and some shell scripts today or tomorrow, ok?
I want full root to do wat I want..I have a epic 4g wit root and a custom rom..one ...I don't need to boot up wit dual boot for the same os...
Sent from my A101IT using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
chulri said:
you don't want to fully root and reformat everything and may brick your device. it's just not worth it.
use the SDE: install custom kernel and if your satisfied remove default kernel and it will boot only custom kernel (until you install any archos firmware again)
with SDE you can use full internal storage (kernel is stored in another very little flash chip: /dev/mmcblk0, mmcblk1 = internal storage, mmcblk2 = sdcard), reformat it and install and do whatever you want. if you're not satisfied, start in recovery mode reformat the device and start all over again or install the archos firmware again. no real chance to brick your device.
why would anyone try to brick his device if he has full device access for free?
@topic building custom kernel and cross compile some linux libraries is quite easy, I'll post an HowTo and some shell scripts today or tomorrow, ok?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once we get root and a recovery image installed bricking the device is pretty hard to do. I seriously haven't heard of any people bricking their phones (other then people flashing different radios - gsm for cdma and vice versa). Rooting and making a 100% ASOP rom would kick ass. Not sure what archos was thinking for making it impossible to root. dumb decision. fail
how would you install a recovery image to a bricked Gen8 device??
there is no need for dual boot but an option in the recovery menu called something like "remove android kernel" which removes the default kernel so the device boots custom kernel only, no dual boot if you don't want it.
You have full root access with SDE, tell me what you can't do with SDE?
SDE = recovery bootloader --> nearly unbrickable device
chulri said:
you don't want to fully root and reformat everything and may brick your device. it's just not worth it.
use the SDE: install custom kernel and if your satisfied remove default kernel and it will boot only custom kernel (until you install any archos firmware again)
with SDE you can use full internal storage (kernel is stored in another very little flash chip: /dev/mmcblk0, mmcblk1 = internal storage, mmcblk2 = sdcard), reformat it and install and do whatever you want. if you're not satisfied, start in recovery mode reformat the device and start all over again or install the archos firmware again. no real chance to brick your device.
why would anyone try to brick his device if he has full device access for free?
@topic building custom kernel and cross compile some linux libraries is quite easy, I'll post an HowTo and some shell scripts today or tomorrow, ok?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A HowTo on this device would be great. Thanks!
As to custom ROMs, etc. - I echo other comments above. I have never had anyone truly brick their device doing custom ROMs - I work at a carrier and have not seen a truly bricked device that couldn't be undone with a custom recovery and/or reflash back to stock and locking NAND again and noone is the wiser. We can put together custom kernels all we want, but a lot of the holdup in devices is the bloatware that the manufacturers put in - and a lot of it is behind the scene in the frameworks. Just doing a custom kernel is great - but to unleash the real potential of the device is to remove all the unnecessary options and software and libraries that are not needed.
Not sure who all here has dealt with Android phones and the custom/AOSP/CM environment, but going to AOSP (or CM) without all the manufacturer bloat and only including the necessary drivers and such will show you how much of a performance boost and unending promise a device truly has. The possibilities are endless.
THAT is why we desire to have NAND unlocked and the ability to move this device to take full advantage of it's hardware.
HowTo is online: [HOWTO] Build custom kernel, libraries and applications on your own
jerdog said:
We can put together custom kernels all we want, but a lot of the holdup in devices is the bloatware that the manufacturers put in - and a lot of it is behind the scene in the frameworks. Just doing a custom kernel is great - but to unleash the real potential of the device is to remove all the unnecessary options and software and libraries that are not needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can replace the whole operating system, archos ships per default some buggy angstrom linux with SDE. maybe someone is able to put ubuntu or windows phone 7 onto it if he is crazy enough
jerdog said:
THAT is why we desire to have NAND unlocked and the ability to move this device to take full advantage of it's hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean with NAND? The Internal Storage (A101IT - 8 or 16 GB) or the flash chip where the kernels and the default android OS are stored?
eitherway, both are NOT locked. you can remove and replace the (signed by archos) squashfs from /dev/mmcblk0p2 and put your own android or any other operating system in it. or reformat /dev/mmcblk1 (internal storage -> 8 / 16 GB) and install your own operating system (e.g. some stripped ubuntu)
Gen8 devices aren't locked. Install SDE und you can do whatever you want with only little possibility of permanently brick it. you always can reinstall the archos firmware to restore default android OS
I'm looking forward to a clean/vanilla 2.2 rom with all bloat removed!
chulri said:
What do you mean with NAND? The Internal Storage (A101IT - 8 or 16 GB) or the flash chip where the kernels and the default android OS are stored?
eitherway, both are NOT locked. you can remove and replace the (signed by archos) squashfs from /dev/mmcblk0p2 and put your own android or any other operating system in it. or reformat /dev/mmcblk1 (internal storage -> 8 / 16 GB) and install your own operating system (e.g. some stripped ubuntu)
Gen8 devices aren't locked. Install SDE und you can do whatever you want with only little possibility of permanently brick it. you always can reinstall the archos firmware to restore default android OS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NAND refers to the flash chip where Archos (and all other manufacturers) put their system files.
When you delete something from the Archos OS (i.e. /system) and then reboot, does it show back up or is it permanently removed? Are you able to remove ALL traces of Archos' stock Android implementation?
jerdog said:
When you delete something from the Archos OS (i.e. /system) and then reboot, does it show back up or is it permanently removed? Are you able to remove ALL traces of Archos' stock Android implementation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you are.
install SDE
boot up the shipped angstrom linux
mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 and remove the androidmerged.squasfs.secure file inside
reboot to recovery mode and "uninstall android kernel"
reboot
without the default archos android kernel it boots always to the custom kernel (default: angstrom linux, but can be replaced with any other OS)
now you have a gen8 device without any archos android os and can use for whatever you want it
if you want it back to normal: recovery mode -> reformat device & install archos android firmware
chulri said:
yes you are.
install SDE
boot up the shipped angstrom linux
mount /dev/mmcblk0p2 and remove the androidmerged.squasfs.secure file inside
reboot to recovery mode and "uninstall android kernel"
reboot
without the default archos android kernel it boots always to the custom kernel (default: angstrom linux, but can be replaced with any other OS)
now you have a gen8 device without any archos android os and can use for whatever you want it
if you want it back to normal: recovery mode -> reformat device & install archos android firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aren't you just removing the kernel and putting your own in? The partition with the actual system still exists though, correct?
What it seems to me, is that Archos has given the ability to use your own kernel with their /system still in place - but this doesn't give the ability to install a completely vanilla system (ala AOSP and/or CM) or to strip out the bloatware and modify the existing frameworks....
I hate to repeat myself.. ( is my english really that bad? )
You DON'T replace the kernel, you install just another one (called custom kernel).
You CAN remove the archos' kernel (but you don't have to)
You CAN remove the archos' android filesystem (location: /dev/mmcblk0p2 -> androidmerged.squashfs.secure)
You have WRITE ACCESS to all flash devices (/dev/mmcblk[0-2])
When you install SDE it ships a vanilla angstrom linux, this has nothing to do with android and shows that you are ABLE TO INSTALL A COMPLETELY VANILLA SYSTEM (even side by side with archos' android if you want to)
chulri, I think you're missing the point. He wants the entire system opened up. Even though you can use SDE to write to any of the flash devices, can you use it to remove a single App from the existing android setup?
They (and I actually) are wanting a custom recoery (something ALA Clockworkmod would work fine for me), and have full access to the internal nand, so they can flash a completely custom ROM, or a pre-rooted factory rom, etc. They want this WITHOUT having to use SDE. With the squashfs secured like it is now, this makes it a bit more difficult to get what we're wanting... If we have a full system rom that's not secure like the existing one, then any app could be removed, upgraded, or themed however you want.
If you don't already own a rooted android phone, then I don't think you really understand the WHY of what they are asking for.
and again...
you can install whatever you want, and even if it is a customizied archos android
the squashfs is not encrypted, you can unpack, copy and replace it with an unsigned squashfs image or even another filesystem, install a custom kernel which ignores the signature (change one or two lines in initramfs.cpio.gz) and there you go...
why do you need another recovery image when you have SDE? it IS a recovery image..
chulri said:
and again...
you can install whatever you want, and even if it is a customizied archos android
the squashfs is not encrypted, you can unpack, copy and replace it with an unsigned squashfs image or even another filesystem, install a custom kernel which ignores the signature (change one or two lines in initramfs.cpio.gz) and there you go...
why do you need another recovery image when you have SDE? it IS a recovery image..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had thought the squashfs image was secured, which it's good to know it's not.
As for the custom recovery, it's more of a personal preference. Most people would rather have some sort of AOSP rom installed on their system, with none of the custom Archos stuff on it, no dual-booting, etc. And while it may be your opinion that it's not necessary, people want it. Being condescending whenever people request it or even ask about it doesn't help at all (all the , or is my english that bad, etc).
I use clockworkmod on my Incredible, and it's never once told me i had to have my device plugged into power to flash something, but I'm stuck at work right now with my Archos telling me that to flash my system with their SDE I have to have it plugged into the power adapter (even though I have 100% battery). That alone to me (again, TO ME) is justification for a seperate custom recovery...
after you have installed the sde you don't have to plug in power to flash custom kernels
anyway: only because some people want some own recovery image, go ahead, hack the sh!t out of gen8 and may brick it but for god sake don't tell the world you couldn't do the same with SDE and claim about the bad bad fail fail company not letting some stupid users brick their devices the ones who know how still can do whatever they want, with or without SDE. the ones who doesn't.. um.. nevermind
UPDATE: it works. see my link below. If anyone knows how to root I'd appreciate if you reply.
Hi
I own a Linx 7 windows tablet. Android x86 builds have not been great due to lack of sound and other driver issues.
I want to flash the bios - the dual boot one - from the cube iwork7 tablet.
In a youtube video by "Mr Borshchuk" - i cant post links, the cube is shown here running the LINX bios, the same version as my tablet. Can I do the reverse and flash the cube dual boot bios on my Linx?
Do you think this would work?
They seem to have the same spec etc and I'm guessing the same board- the cube just has a silver back. All ports are in the same place.
UPDATE: After looking more on 4pda, the iwork seems to come in 1/16GB variants and 2/32GB variants. My linx has 1GB of ram but 32gb of storage. Would this be an issue? My search also confirmed they are hardware clones.
So, that's the BIOS flash method. My other thought is is there a way to boot the android rom from the cube tablet from the stock linx bios? I have tried using the androidx86 bootloader combined with parts of the cube image and parts of androidx86 but, as expected, it didn't work.
So: I'm currently downloading the dual-boot bios from 4pda. Should I flash to my Linx?
Thanks. I've always loved XDA.
androidonlinx said:
Hi
I own a Linx 7 windows tablet. Android x86 builds have not been great due to lack of sound and other driver issues.
I want to flash the bios - the dual boot one - from the cube iwork7 tablet.
In a youtube video by "Mr Borshchuk" - i cant post links, the cube is shown here running the LINX bios, the same version as my tablet. Can I do the reverse and flash the cube dual boot bios on my Linx?
Do you think this would work?
They seem to have the same spec etc and I'm guessing the same board- the cube just has a silver back. All ports are in the same place.
UPDATE: After looking more on 4pda, the iwork seems to come in 1/16GB variants and 2/32GB variants. My linx has 1GB of ram but 32gb of storage. Would this be an issue? My search also confirmed they are hardware clones.
So, that's the BIOS flash method. My other thought is is there a way to boot the android rom from the cube tablet from the stock linx bios? I have tried using the androidx86 bootloader combined with parts of the cube image and parts of androidx86 but, as expected, it didn't work.
So: I'm currently downloading the dual-boot bios from 4pda. Should I flash to my Linx?
Thanks. I've always loved XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just thought what's the worst that could happen and flashed the bios. it worked. installing android and windows now.
EDIT: Android works. If anyone wants to know how I did this, please reply
EDIT: Windows works. I have achieved a dual boot setup .
androidonlinx said:
I just thought what's the worst that could happen and flashed the bios. it worked. installing android and windows now.
EDIT: Android works. If anyone wants to know how I did this, please reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows works. .linxtablet.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=1462&p=8748#p8748 is a guide. I am that user.
Can you just flash the android with this? I've no need for windows but if you could please share some info on the procedure.
Thanks
redeyes_ni said:
Can you just flash the android with this? I've no need for windows but if you could please share some info on the procedure.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check my 'link' to LinxTablet forums. You have to flash both but you can just ignore Windows and have a 16GB android partition.
androidonlinx said:
Check my 'link' to LinxTablet forums. You have to flash both but you can just ignore Windows and have a 16GB android partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done all that which was handy enough so thanks but the android partition is only showing up as:
Internal Storage
Total Space: 4.36GB
I've loaded some apps which leaves me 2 GB free.
The only other partition is the external SD. Is there something I need to do to get the rest of the 16GB? Seems to me that it hasn't mounted or partitioned the internal memory correctly. The tablet is 32GB and I'm not concerned at just using the 16GB for android but with 2 GB left it's going to be a bit tight for apps.
Thanks again, any help would be appreciated.
I'm not sure. I'll check mine tonight but I remember having more storage than that. Are you sure your tablet is a 32gb version
Try using Minitool or Easus on the Windows side to resize the android partition if you can, or even just view the layout.
KitKat lacks support for apps to extsd. Root would mean we can fix this. The device does not support USB as port is otg and charge only so root has to be done with APK on tablet or on offline android fs from Windows. Anyone know how to root?
EDIT: checked. I have 3.43 GB free. Sorry, should have checked earlier. Android system takes up 2GB not shown, storage is only 28GB after bootloader, BIOS partition huge due to touch support in menus plus unnecessary drivers, plus I imagine the EFI partition was wrongly sized. This is fine for me, but will look into when I am working on Android again.
Currently not working on Android any more (fruity-based desktop OS port instead) but will come back to it. Hoping to also create an Androidx86 build to avoid BIOS flashing, but the BIOS flash does mean you have 64bit EFI on the Android side so can boot Win7, Darwin (you know what I mean ) and Ubuntu without modification.
Still looking to root. Anyone?
androidonlinx said:
I'm not sure. I'll check mine tonight but I remember having more storage than that. Are you sure your tablet is a 32gb version
Try using Minitool or Easus on the Windows side to resize the android partition if you can, or even just view the layout.
KitKat lacks support for apps to extsd. Root would mean we can fix this. The device does not support USB as port is otg and charge only so root has to be done with APK on tablet or on offline android fs from Windows. Anyone know how to root?
EDIT: checked. I have 3.43 GB free. Sorry, should have checked earlier. Android system takes up 2GB not shown, storage is only 28GB after bootloader, BIOS partition huge due to touch support in menus plus unnecessary drivers, plus I imagine the EFI partition was wrongly sized. This is fine for me, but will look into when I am working on Android again.
Currently not working on Android any more (fruity-based desktop OS port instead) but will come back to it. Hoping to also create an Androidx86 build to avoid BIOS flashing, but the BIOS flash does mean you have 64bit EFI on the Android side so can boot Win7, Darwin (you know what I mean ) and Ubuntu without modification.
Still looking to root. Anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man. I'll try to resize the partition if/when I need it. Great work, well appreciated.
androidonlinx said:
Currently not working on Android any more (fruity-based desktop OS port instead) but will come back to it. Hoping to also create an Androidx86 build to avoid BIOS flashing, but the BIOS flash does mean you have 64bit EFI on the Android side so can boot Win7, Darwin (you know what I mean ) and Ubuntu without modification.
Still looking to root. Anyone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any bugs to note with the *toshing?
Rooting wise I can see two options. 1. mount the android system in windows with ext2 viewer or something and root it manually using a SuperSU.zip or better yet with linux (to avoid permissions issues). 2. Is there any other stage in the android boot process that you can halt it at? Dnx mode or droidboot (I'm assuming similar setup to chuwi vi10), where perhaps the usb will work in slave mode and it is identified as a fastboot device, allowing you to flash a custom recovery/root.
HypoTurtle said:
Any bugs to note with the *toshing?
Rooting wise I can see two options. 1. mount the android system in windows with ext2 viewer or something and root it manually using a SuperSU.zip or better yet with linux (to avoid permissions issues). 2. Is there any other stage in the android boot process that you can halt it at? Dnx mode or droidboot (I'm assuming similar setup to chuwi vi10), where perhaps the usb will work in slave mode and it is identified as a fastboot device, allowing you to flash a custom recovery/root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good idea. The flash is done using droidboot but I cannot get back into recovery again
androidonlinx said:
Good idea. The flash is done using droidboot but I cannot get back into recovery again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If its anything like the vi10 then Dnx mode is volume up and power from device off. Volume down and power is Windows/Android switcher. Volume down once the android logo appears will boot into droidboot.
Then there is the question of if you have a working custom recovery to flash, I think any of the baytrail recoveries from Dell/Chuwi etc. devices would work - will a kernel change if needed, and if the buttons work to enter recovery.
HypoTurtle said:
If its anything like the vi10 then Dnx mode is volume up and power from device off. Volume down and power is Windows/Android switcher. Volume down once the android logo appears will boot into droidboot.
Then there is the question of if you have a working custom recovery to flash, I think any of the baytrail recoveries from Dell/Chuwi etc. devices would work - will a kernel change if needed, and if the buttons work to enter recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try this when I next have some spare time and my Linx to hand.
Knowing the reputation if Cube it wouldn't suprise me if the stock recovery allowed custom zips but otherwise I will try and flash another recovery from a similar tablet.
I'll take another look on 4pda to see if they have achieved root there too
Thanks again
I have root if anyone is interested email me on [email protected]
HypoTurtle said:
If its anything like the vi10 then Dnx mode is volume up and power from device off. Volume down and power is Windows/Android switcher. Volume down once the android logo appears will boot into droidboot.
Then there is the question of if you have a working custom recovery to flash, I think any of the baytrail recoveries from Dell/Chuwi etc. devices would work - will a kernel change if needed, and if the buttons work to enter recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got root working on my linx7 with the icube dual boot email me and I will tell you how
Hi mate, I found you late but really wants to know how to install Android in Linx 7, I don't wan windows at all, please reply
Thanks
U
onlinejobwork said:
Hi mate, I found you late but really wants to know how to install Android in Linx 7, I don't wan windows at all, please reply
Thanks
U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to linxtablet.co.uk I put my work on there it does mean flashing the bios so backup your product key also the Android partition is only 4gig so you can dual boot and have both I did find a way of making it 8gig but it was messy and buggy
[email protected] said:
Go to linxtablet.co.uk I put my work on there it does mean flashing the bios so backup your product key also the Android partition is only 4gig so you can dual boot and have both I did find a way of making it 8gig but it was messy and buggy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any direct link please ?
onlinejobwork said:
any direct link please ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://linxtablet.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2096
For those that remember @EarlyMon posted how to disable Swap long ago when the 5x was on Lollipop.
Well since the 5x has been updated to Marshmallow this method no longer works. So I started looking around for a solution
and I found this >> https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g4/development/mod-disable-zram-t3435613
Turns out this works just fine on the Honor 5x on Marshmallow.
If you'd like to give it a try, I have updated the files from the post above and uploaded them to my AFH Here
Here is a copy / paste of the instructions from the post above by @redbeard1083 ...Thanks Go to him and EarlyMon
We hate zram. This easy mod will disable it on the stock Moto G4 rom. In our experiences with disabling zram we've been able to notice performance gains on devices from 1-3gb of ram (Moto E 2015, Moto G 2014, Honor 5X, Huawei GX8).
8/13/16 Update: Now flashable via TWRP.
1. Have TWRP and MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING. I am not responsible if you break your phone. If you don't already know how to restore your device to the way it was when you bought it, do not do any of this.
2. Flash via TWRP:
Zram Off: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24588232905722629
To return to stock (I cannot promise this is exactly the same as the G4 Plus. If any G4 Plus users want to send me a hastebin of the /system/etc/init.qcom.zram.sh file to compare that would help).
Zram On: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24588232905722630
Old instructions if you prefer to do it manually:
1. Be rooted.
2. Have a stock nandroid backup.
3. Backup /system/etc/init.qcom.zram.sh to some safe place.
4. Unzip MotoG4_Zram_Disable
5. Using root file manager of your choice (I like Solid Explorer) copy init.qcom.zram.sh to /system/etc folder and overwrite the existing file.
This has been tested working on the XT1625 and likely works on the G4 Plus as well. If this works for you on a different variant, please leave a reply and I'll do my best to update this post.
Links:
Disable Zram: https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24588232905722479
If for some unholy reason you'd like to turn it back on, follow the same process copying your backed up init.qcom.ram.sh file back to /system/etc.
Thanks to @EarlyMon for his edits that allow us to keep zram disabled without having to run terminal commands at every boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again you can use my files or the ones from the original post (they both work)
Also Remember on the H5x you can Boot TWRP recovery to do the flash
Code:
fastboot boot kiwi_twrp_recovery.img
Have fun !
Reserved
thanks, I will try it.
one question tho, how can I know that zram is now disabled? like will I see an improvement in ram management or phone will be more fluid??
in my knowledge, zram manages the background process by compressing the actual process behind, (when the app is not running , but stays in the recent apps) and decompressing the task when we choose it..so this causes some lag.. and if we remove zram, the phone will be much snappy??
please correct me if I'm wrong.. thanks for your work
one question tho, im on b370 kiwl22 now, (the firmware which causes bootloops for custom roms), can i flash it??
thilak devraj said:
thanks, I will try it.
one question tho, how can I know that zram is now disabled? like will I see an improvement in ram management or phone will be more fluid??
in my knowledge, zram manages the background process by compressing the actual process behind, (when the app is not running , but stays in the recent apps) and decompressing the task when we choose it..so this causes some lag.. and if we remove zram, the phone will be much snappy??
please correct me if I'm wrong.. thanks for your work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Ram Truth to verify the swap is gone.
theirs plenty of discussion on if you want to disable it or not, start with the links i posted and follow it to the h5x thread on disabling swap
most people see an immediate improvement in the phone. zram is a stupid waste of CPU cycles on a phone with more that 1gb or ram
thilak devraj said:
one question tho, im on b370 kiwl22 now, (the firmware which causes bootloops for custom roms), can i flash it??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it should work just fine
clsA said:
I use Ram Truth to verify the swap is gone.
theirs plenty of discussion on if you want to disable it or not, start with the links i posted and follow it to the h5x thread on disabling swap
most people see an immediate improvement in the phone. zram is a stupid waste of CPU cycles on a phone with more that 1gb or ram
yes it should work just fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for the info and letting me know about ram truth
working like a charm.. I can see some performance improvements
THESE COOKED ROMS ASSUME YOU HAVE ALREADY AN UNLOCKED BOOTLOADER AND TWRP AS RECOVERY SYSTEM. You can flash them using TWRP, after wiping ART, cache, data, boot and system partitions.
FINAL RELEASE: Well... this is the final release from me and it is specifically for the WiFi model. I hope it is worth it for you. It is more stable and somewhat updated, anyway, if you use a X90F (wifi model) you will probably like it. The other versions are still up for whatever reason. Here's the link. Follow this guide by @Quardah if you are coming from a factory ROM. Go to post 46 if you can't get past the setup wizard. A barely tested (by @Nuihc88) version for the 3G (X90L) model can be found here.
NOTICE: If you find this work useful, mirror it. I won't be hosting it for free forever and it is becoming a burden to my Nextcloud installation. One would say this is a pretty much forgotten thread, but I'm seeing almost daily download activity. I'm putting the ROM files offline now and getting away from XDA for a while. Please don't DM me for the files. If you are looking for them, ask others in this thread. Good bye.
||||||||||||||||||| FROM HERE IS JUST INFORMATION YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED |||||||||||||||||||
Spoiler: NEWS THAT ARE NOT ANYMORE.
APRIL 9, 2021: You can find in these links a new version of the cooked ROM.
The link for the updated cooked ROM is: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/Y8o3eoBK4Ryx5RP. This is a version with GAPPS updated: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/FPKjgQcmW3CHZCw. Feel free to mirror, unless you are afraid of Lenovo's lawyers, but don't forget to share the link.
My personal version... even more debloated (if you don't need chinese, japanese, korean, or russian input support/apps) and with CPU tweaks for my own usage: https://centsoarer.ddns.net/s/jcCDAgNedryGRjo
KNOWN ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS:
1) One random reboot after the first boot will happen and it is normal.
2) I'd reccommend to stay with Magisk 21.4 for a while, Magisk Manager >21.4 won't manage your extensions.
3) If you can't get past the initial Setup Wizard check post 46. Basically you have to boot into bootloader, erase the config partition and format it again.
4) Needs confirmation, but versions with signature spoofing patches seem to break Lenovo's SmartSide Bar.
JUNE 12: Fast update on the Cooked ROM and TWRP and KERNEL. They are not as universal as I implied before. Proceed carefully since they may not work four your device/firmware. Make a Nandroid backup and only flash with testing purposes.
JUNE 5: So, I know this is not what everybody who owns this tablet wants to have (that is Android 9 or 10 of course) but, in recent weeks Lenovo updated the firmware of this tablets. It still is a Marshmallow one and it still sucks big time but I took it as a base and cooked it to deliver a newer TWRP recovery with compression, a flashable modified kernel and a cooked flashable stock ROM to free the owners of this tablets from the treacherous path of making this hardware to work properly. If you want a better overall experience and are in stock firmware you just need to Unlock your bootloader, flash TWRP, Format data partition (not only wipe), Wipe Cache, Dalvik/ART, System and DATA and flash the Cooked ROM to put this tablet in a sweeter spot. For details go to post #2!
JUNE 3: Been trying to get to know some of the source code available for Cherry Trail devices and I am fairly lost at building TWRP from source. Anyway, I ported a newer TWRP recovery IMG file for the YT3-X90F (maybe L, X, Y and Z) from the TWRP image for the Chuwi Hi10 Pro tablet from here, using AIK-Linux. The result is in the second post labeled as beta, since I only tested in the YT3-X90F model, running lollipop firmware. So far, it works fine flashing ZIP archives, backing up and restoring backups. Advantages? Well, backups are way lighter if you enable compression (like half the size), higher resolution, twrp turns off the screen with a timeout and whatever made them bump from version 2 to 3. While I could port a newer TWRP version, I just wanted to have lighter backups with compression... so maybe it is what it is .
ORIGINAL POST STARTS HERE. This is general information that I collected for geeks or desperate users that bricked their tablets. When I started this post it wasn't intended to produce a cooked ROM that would include most of these hacks. You don't need this if your tablet boots to Android or TWRP. You also don't need this if you are ready to flash the cooked ROM.
(This is a lenghty post. I suggest you to navigate by section header and find the one you might need.)
There are several Lenovo Yoga 3 tablet models out there and, while some of them enjoy of prime community support as the Yoga Tab 3 Plus, this Intel Atom powered tablet is pretty much forgotten and, at the same time, users were recently buying this tablet, which is a great piece of hardware but has the most terrible support by Lenovo.
Spoiler: WHAT LENOVO TABLET(S) IS THIS GUIDE FOR?
Basically, this is that Lenovo tablet with an attached projector and an Intel Atom Cherry Trail x5 Z8500. There are several models, though, to my knowledge they vary in their code names in the last letter, the two most basic ones (2GB RAM, 32 GB ROM) are the YT3-X90F and the YT3-X90L, the former connects to the internet by WiFi and the latter being the one with LTE/Phone capabilities. There are other models, though, and they vary on the amount of RAM and internal storage. Apparently, the YT3-X90[YX] models (the 4/64 GB refresh) have some use for these firmwares we describe, but in a very specific way, if you own a Y or X model, keep reading, especially the next section.
Spoiler: EXPLAINING HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT STOCK FIRMWARE
Lenovo support has been terrible (there are no words to describe it, really), so they launched this tablet with Android 5.1 Lollipop and they maintained it for a while but were very slow to deliver Android 6.0 Marshmallow. In fact, there was already Android Nougat, when they sent the Marshmallow update. Nevertheless, the update was bad. Performance issues were always a thing and some functionality went lost in the update (less intuitive multiple windows, a crippled recents activity/screen, and a laggy overall experience). Bottom line, they launched a curated Android Lollipop 5.1 firmware with security updates until March 2016 (striked because the last lollipop update f*cks up my sensors, except the light one) and a half-assed Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 firmware.
Of course, at the time, I'm guessing most of us upgraded to Android Marshmallow 6.0.1, hoping the upgrade would fix the issues in Lollipop or with security patches in mind. The reality was that Android 6.0.1 wasn't nearly as maintained as 5.1 and security ambitions went nowhere. So, we got the upgrade all right, but at this point, both Android versions can be considered inherently insecure and we really shouldn't be using it for sensitive work.
OK, there are several Android 5.1 and 6.0 firmwares, you can recognize them because they are all over the internet typically in a compressed format. For example, this firmware hosted in androidhost.ru named:
YT3-X90F_ENG_S100265_1601281130_WW24_ROW
Is a firmware for the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 (YT3) Pro (X90) Wifi Version (F). The ENG part is an indication of the build type, ENG is an engineer build while USR is probably a firmware for the end user (this is common now that I know a bit more about AOSP source code), it is a Lollipop firmware (S1, Marshmallow would be a S2) with update version (00265), date of compilation and a good estimate of its security patch (1601281130), the WW24 is the weekly release version of the Android kernel for Intel devices (the latest, in May 2020, being WW31 which is exactly the same as WW28 and not updated since 2016), the final part means it is the global ROM version (ROW, opossed to the Chinese version CN). This is the latest Lollipop firmware I am aware of, so, as an example, an imaginary Android Marshmallow Chinese firmware for the LTE version of the Yoga Tab 3 would look like:
YT3-X90L_USR_S200013_1610141535_WW24_CN
As an additional note the Chinese ROMS, I presume, are not trusty but they are also Google-free for what it's worth. On the other hand, they ship with a "Lenovo Services Framework" that should be as intrusive as the Google Play Services. Oh, also, baidu and yandex, and, really, any less traditional search engine can help you find a fitting firmware.
Spoiler: EXPLAINING HOW TO FLASH A STOCK FIRMWARE (DOWNGRADE TO LOLLIPOP AND UNBRICK)
I did test several firmwares, chinese and global, lollipop and marshmallow and the safest and easiest way to flash them is by using the Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite . I can't say I trust in this site, but it hosts a handy tutorial on how to use it, though, is pretty intuitive. The software exists for Mac, Windows and Linux, be sure you are in, at least, the 5.8.x version, this is important to avoid the need to install some special drivers separately as a pre-requisite. Grossly, Intel Flash Tool Lite works like this:
0) Turn off your tablet if it is on.
1) Launch Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite.
2) If your downloaded firmware is in zip format load it with the blue "Browse..." button.
2 bis) OR, if your firmware is in other compressed formats, uncompress it first. After this use the "Browse..." button to load the "flash.json" file.
3) In Configuration option select "blank" if it isn't set already. Optionally, un-tick the "On-demand flash" option to have more control of this process. Also, maybe you can use the "erase" configuration here.
4) Start your tablet in DNX mode. To do this, press Vol- and hold it, then Vol+ and keep holding both, then press the Power button until it turns on and you see the Lenovo logo and some text indicating you are in said mode.
5) Connect your Yoga Tablet with a USB cable and your Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite windows should show it as detected. Now you can proceed using the blue "Start to flash" button.
6) Keep an eye on your tablet, since some firmwares will prompt to set some more options. Unless you know what you are doing, answer "Yes" to any question.
7) Reboot and wait.
If a couple hours have passed and the tablet hasn't booted, maybe you should try another firmware.
IMPORTANT NOTE AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR YT3-X90Y AND POTENTIALLY YT3-X90X USERS: I don't know the rules in xda about linking to other forums but in certain forum there is an answered question about the Y model (the 4/64 GB WiFi only refresh) on how to flash a firmware. Instructions are the same as I gave in this section, except, apparently, you need to do it twice, first with the ENG version and the second time with the USR version except you are not using the flash.json file, this time you'll browse for the flash_factory_1st_stage.json one and the factory1st configuration in fastboot. It is not clear what are the consequences of not doing it this way or what if you combine different firmware versions (it would be interesting to have a tester here). Notice please, these firmwares are marked for the YT3-X90F model. So, clarifying:
1) Follow the instructions above to flash the YT3-X90F_ENG firmware.
2) Power off your tablet.
3) Boot into bootloader (not in DNX, you need to boot into bootloader by powering on while holding Vol+).
4) From the YT3-X90F_USR firmware folder use Intel Platform Flashing Tool Lite to load the flash_factory_1st_stage.json and select the factory1st configuration.
5) After flashing the USR firmware, reboot and you should be good to go.
METANOTE: This wasn't tested by me, please do this only when you are hopeless with your hardware. This is just an educated guess but I bet it works the same with the YT3-X90L (the LTE version 2/32 GB Yoga Tab 3 Pro) and the YT3-X90X (the 4/64 GB refresh).
ALTERNATIVE WAY TO FLASH A STOCK FIRMWARE (ADVANCED USERS, requires fastboot)
Well, there is no need, really, to use that Intel tool. In my search for a lollipop firmware (I wanted to downgrade from Marshmallow) I found the firmware YT3-X90F_USR_S100195_1512052308_WW24_ROW in www.firmware247.com or www.androidfilehost.com (IMPORTANT: please read the note on downgrading to Android 5.1 Lollipop in the note at the end of this section). This firmware was special since, if you are in Windows and have fastboot executable ready and in place, you can run a script (run_me.bat) in the Windows terminal (CMD) or Powershell to flash the firmware semi-automatically. I think this firmware was modified, though, since I found differences in the boot.img when compared with stock firmwares. This script is credited to XDA members @ionioni and @joesnose and you can replicate its steps if you:
0) Turn off your tablet if it is on.
1) Start your tablet in DNX mode. To do this, press Vol- and hold it, then Vol+ and keep holding both, then press the Power button until it turns on and you see the Lenovo logo and some text indicating you are in said mode.
2) Connect your tablet to your fastboot enabled PC using a USB cable.
3) Input "fastboot flash osloader loader.efi"
4) Wait 5 seconds to be sure the loader flash finishes.
5) Reboot into Bootloader. If you don't know how, one way is to hold Vol+ and Power on your tablet.
6) Input "fastboot oem unlock" and confirm using Vol keys to select the right option and the Power button to enter it.
7) Input "fastboot flash system system.img"
8) Input "fastboot flash boot boot.img"
9) Input "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img"
10) Input "fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img"
Follow your instincts, since I don't know if these IMG files are always named the same. You can get these IMG files from downloaded sources or dump them yourself using dd command.
NOTE ON DOWNGRADING TO ANDROID LOLLIPOP 5.1: So, one of my main concerns has been to go back to Android Lollipop. There is a last version of Lollipop from where you can upgrade to Marshmallow with a security patch from March 2016. Nevertheless, you MAY end up loosing other sensors except the light one. If this happens, you need to use a complete firmware flash using Intel Platform Flash Tool Lite. In my experience, some boot images are not compatible with other weird partitions like country or misc.
Spoiler: TWEAKS ALREADY IN THE COOKED ROM
The first boot takes some time even amounting for the time of the setup itself. By the time you are in the launcher tapping on app's icons you think there's nothing wrong with our device, but after some apps are in memory, you notice some lag. You think "OK, it is updating, but soon it'll settle", but it does not. So, you reboot again after updates and fire up a terminal emulator and connect to your tablet using a USB cable with USB debugging turned on and issue a free command to find something like this:
Code:
total used free shared buffers
Mem: 1950372 1820964 129408 0 7756
Swap: 524284 10740 513544
Total: 2474656 1831704 642952
Which means you have a total of ~2.5 GB (this is the 2 GB model). So, did I download that extra half GB of RAM or Lenovo was feeling generous? Well, no. The issue here is Lenovo built the kernel with zRAM support which is a technology included in Linux that reserves space in RAM to quickly compress and uncompress pages of data exceeding our physical amount of RAM installed (2 GB). This is not Virtual Memory as in a swap file/partition or Windows' Page File inside storage media. zRAM literally reserves a fixed amount of physical RAM space (blocks) to expand it by compressing data. The consequence is you loose "fast RAM" (THE RAM) and gain some "slow RAM" (the zRAM). You also sacrifice some CPU power to compress/decompress data and, with this, some battery juice is also lost.
That does not sound like a terrible trade-off for a RAM-limited device, one would think. Another interesting thing would be WHEN to send this piling data in "fast RAM" to the compressed space and WHEN to get it back. Two parameters control the WHENS, one is called "swappiness" (when to send it to the compressed space, the "slow RAM") and the other may be the "vfs_cache_pressure" (when to uncompress it and send it back to the "fast RAM"). And this is where the main problem is, really, because the kernel, Linux, is pressing the RAM constantly to send some less prioritary data to "slow RAM" and, at the same time, is trying constantly to send compressed data back to the "fast RAM". Summarizing, this kernel behavior is practically minimizing the fast RAM amount and usage while maximizing the "slow RAM" usage. This is nuts, by default a swappiness and a vfs_cache_pressure of 100 are not even default for servers, these parameters extremely prioritize that processes can get done no matter how slow they get, and they are even more nuts when Android is designed to work without swap space.
What that free command is telling us is the tablet is using the "slow RAM" even when we only just turned it on. Fortunately there are two ways to fix this problem: one is to completely disable zRAM, the other one is to use ZRAM a whole lot less by tweaking the swappiness and vfs_cache_pressure parameters. This can be easily done with the following sentences in a rooted tablet:
Code:
# echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
# echo 50 > echo 5 > /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure
Or, to regain the whole fast RAM:
Code:
# swapoff /dev/block/zram*
One caveat of the first method, reducing swappiness, is there is still a lot of RAM (one quarter of the whole RAM in a 2 GB device) reserved as "slow RAM".
SOME ROMS DID NOT ENABLE KERNEL SAMEPAGE MERGING, UNFORTUNATELY
Additional to the sorry implementation of zRAM, some firmwares support a fabulous Linux tool to reduce RAM usage called Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) but they don't use it by default. This software runs at kernel level, so, it really is CPU-wise inexpensive and, opposite to zRAM it can actually recover some RAM usage by reducing the amount of data flagged as redundant in physical RAM by merging it. KSM is good for you and you should have it always enabled by issuing the following command as root:
Code:
# echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run
STOP WRITING AND FIX MY RAM! PLEASE!
Well... are there any people interested on this? With the above information you can write a script to execute at boot. Something like this should work in any version of the firmware:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
# Mount system as rw
busybox mount -o remount,rw -t auto /system
# Tweaking swappiness in zram
echo "5" > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness
echo "50" > /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure
# Activating Kernel Samepage Merging
echo 1 > /sys/kernel/mm/ksm/run
# Remount system as ro. noatime option for faster and volatile system
# busybox mount -o ro,remount,noatime /system
busybox mount -o ro,remount /system
exit 1
Or, you can unpack the boot.img and modify the init.cht_ffd.rc (lollipop) or the init.r2_cht_ffd.rc (marshmallow) files to write these values as default... or, if there is interest for something easier, I can produce this boot.img files for you to flash using fastboot.
ROOTING THE LENOVO YOGA TAB 3 PRO (YT3-X90[FL])
Here I am not gonna write a lot. Instructions were given in this thread. I'd only recommend to put vm.targetutilization at 0.8 top 0.85 in system/build.prop
After rooting, debloat your firmware. I use the app "/system/app mover" from Fdroid to convert to user apps and uninstall them. Also, if rooting is not your cup of tea, you can install AppOps software to freeze all those apps that you don't use regularly. Also, I couldn't patch my services.jar for Signature Spoofing with Nanodroid patcher in the most recent lollipop firmware, but it did work in Marshmallow... anyway I'll do it manually.
ARE YT3-X90F AND YT3-X90L FIRMWARES INTERCHANGEABLE?
I own a WiFi only device (YT3-X90F) so I can't assert they are interchangeable. If I owned the LTE version and use a WiFi firmware I would expect to loose LTE functionality. Now, on the other direction is more interesting because I've been using a LTE firmware version for weeks (as a matter of fact, the one joesnose linked in his How-To debrick this tablet, flashed with the instructions I posted for advanced users it even updated to recent 2020 firmwares). The only tweak you need for this to work well is to add "ro.ril.disable=1" in the build.prop file. So, yes, firmware for the LTE version work in the WiFi version but kind of not vice versa.
Spoiler: YT3-X90(FL) UN-DEVELOPMENT
No news here. All capable people interested on developing for this device are all done with Lenovo and their attitude against Open Source. Don't expect your situation to change.
I'm happy to know there are still a couple of developers interested on this device. I won't cite them by linking their names but they are OOEvil and alquez, the first guy is trying to make a Generic System Image (GSI) ROM compatible with our tablet, I don't know the details so I wouldn't go further. Alquez has been active in this thread and, while he is trying to figure out how to build a kernel, he believes the best way to start having some alternative to official Lenovo firmware is by using a firmware kernel (a prebuilt kernel) to, first, build a more up-to-date TWRP recovery.img and from there try to build CyanogenMod 13, which was based on Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. My guess is newer Android versions wouldn't work if we can't build the kernel from source.
PHOTO ALBUM OF YT3/X90Y BIOS
This photo album documenting every screen option in the BIOS of the Yoga Tab 3 Pro may or may not help someone, but it contains a lot of useful hardware information and guidance for those attempting to boot something else than the original Android 5 or 6 firmware. Using this options, that are accessible through F2 at boot with an attached USB keyboard, you could try Linux distributions on the tablet or even attempt to run Windows, @alquez informs it works fine with a recent distro but the mainline kernel is lacking touchscreen and battery support. This is absolutely his work and he asked me to share it. I hope it serves someone. It is hosted in a rather obscure website but it was the only reasonable placeholder I could find for the 321 photos.
Hope this helps someone, I just didn't want to keep it to myself. Have a nice day!
Just remember, if your tablet is 3G capable I strongly suggest that you modify the line "ro.lenovo.tablet=wifi" to "ro.lenovo.tablet=3gdata" and remove the line "ro.radio.noril=true" to your build.prop file in /system. To do this you can use the section Build.prop Editor of the Kernel Adiutor app or you can do it manually if you have already a method to modify system files. If you do not use mobile data at all, you may leave the build.prop as it is, you'll save a lot of battery by using only wifi.
Spoiler: Some old info here, but maybe useful
ONLY FOR TESTING: Cooked ROM, newer TWRP and tweaked kernel
ONLY TRY THESE FOR TESTING PURPOSES, THE TWEAKS ARE ALL SAFE TO USE BUT ONLY FLASH FOR TESTING PURPOSES, PLEASE. FIRST, TRY TO USE FASTBOOT TO BOOT THE boot.img FILE WITHOUT FLASHING: IF IT BOOTS GO AHEAD AND TRY THE OTHER FILES (fastboot boot boot.img). THE TWRP IS NOT AS STABLE AS THE OTHER ONE HERE AT XDA BUT ALLOWS TO USE ZIP COMPRESSION IN BACKUPS. I AM NOT GONNA BE AROUND. IF YOU TRY SOMETHING MAKE A BACKUP FIRST. THIS DEVICE IS MESSY AS F*CK.
Spoiler: Some old info here, but maybe useful
I wrote a very detailed guide about these files I uploaded to my Nextcloud that include the newer TWRP-3.0.2, a TWRP flashable Cooked ROM and a separate kernel (boot.img) in case your system is already setup, but the post went to some XDA void and didn't upload. These are based on the YT3-X90L latest firmware, but they work on the X90F model too. The TWRP should work with Lollipop and Marshmallow firmwares.
I can't write everything again, so, the kernel contains better management of RAM and emmc (internal) memory, a 256 MB zRAM space instead of 512 and a more conservative approach to LowMemoryKiller.
The cooked ROM includes the described kernel and debloated apps, it's already rooted with Magisk (you can unroot with Magisk Uninstaller), an updated Busybox build, su.d support (I plan to use it with AFWall+), zipaligned apps, etc. It is for the X90L but possibly works for the other Yoga Tab 3 Pro models. It works for the X90F but it will reboot once after the first boot because the RIL configuration times out. To install the cooked ROM you need to:
0) Know that by doing this you will loose pretty much everything in your tablet. You start from scratch if everything goes smooth, if not you could possibly end up with a system without an OS. The usual stuff when you are customizing your system.
1) Boot into TWRP and make a Nandroid backup. IT IS IMPORTANT because @joesnose had problems with a "random reboot" and lost Bluetooth/WiFi after it. I am trying to look into this. The only difference is his tablet has 4 GB RAM and probably a different firmware.
2) Wipe cache, Dalvik/ART, System and Data in TWRP - Wipe, Advanced Wipe menu. If your tablet is encrypted, or in factory firmware you also need to explicitly use the button "Format Data partition" and confirm writing "yes" in the format procedure prompt. You will loose any configuration made to your tablet.
3) Install the superr_stockMM.zip wich is flashable by selecting the file from your Internal tablet memory, using the Install button in the main TWRP interface.
FOUR IMPORTANT NOTES TO COMMON ISSUES:
If you come from a stock firmware your data partition is encrypted. You need to pass a blank password in TWRP to continue to use the custom recovery. You also need to format data partition before flashing the cooked ROM.
If your tablet is WiFi-only I strongly suggest that you modify the line "ro.lenovo.tablet=3gdata" to "ro.lenovo.tablet=wifi" and add the line "ro.radio.noril=true" to your build.prop file in /system. To do this you can use the section Build.prop Editor of the Kernel Adiutor app or you can do it manually if you have already a method to modify system files. In Lollipop firmware you use "ro.ril.disable=1" instead of "ro.radio.noril=true" to get the same effect: sort of a conversion to WIFI-only tablet from LTE models. I'd argue this is useful to do if you are gonna be without LTE connection/service for long periods of time and I can think a couple of other uses.
Do not use stock Lenovo launcher unless you uninstall Magisk... they are incompatible for reasons I don't care to know and the Launcher will constantly FC (it is a pain in the arse).
If you are still expecting better performance I am sure there are some tweaks left in RAM management but it wont go too much further in 2 GB devices. Instead, you may consider to lower your display resolution and pixel density to something reasonable as 1400x2240 or even 1200x1920 maintaining the same aspect ratio. To do this you do not need to have root but you need to interact with the tablet using ADB. First change the size of your display:
Code:
adb shell wm size 1400x2240
Then adjust your density:
Code:
adb shell wm density 260
If still is not enough you can go even further with 1200x1920 and 224, use the same method to go back to stock with 1600x2560 and 300 to 302. This won't need a reboot but will probably cause an inconsistent UI that will lead to FCs and random reboot. You can just reboot after applying these tweaks. Unless you are really sight-gifted you won't notice a lot has changed but you will be dealing with 2.x Mpixels instead of 4.x Mpixels and that will help with your overall performance as well as your battery life sacrificing a pixel count that most of the people wouldn't even notice. If you did this correctly, in the next boot sequences you'll notice an offset on the Lenovo orange logo.
It is important to say that your display supports 1600x2560 pixels physically, but I'm assuming the GPU has no dedicated RAM and uses the device's, so, by reducing the quantity of pixels the GPU needs to deal with, the pressure on the device's RAM is also reduced.
EXTRA TIP: If boot annoys you just delete /system/media/boot.wav, bootanimation.zip and shutdownanimation.zip and you'll get a silent boot and the generic android boot animation.
Hope you enjoy your tablet!
TWRP-3.0.2.0- BETA: Again, this is not a flashable zip. Uncompress first and test the recovery system using "fastboot boot twrp_yt3-x90f_beta.img". If everything works for you, you may want to flash it permanently rebooting to bootloader and flashing with "fastboot flash recovery twrp_yt3-x90f_beta.img". Remember I did not test this in Marshmallow yet.
FEATURES:
- Fixed RAM issues (swapiness 10, vfs_cache_size 50 and disabled dynamic low memory killer tweaks and minfree values).
- Reduced zRAM size to only 256 MB.
- Tweaked interactive CPU scheduler to use other than min and max frequencies (but still responsive). The tweaks are based on the Advanced Interactive Governor Tweaks Guide. This may save battery life.
- Max frequency capped to 2.08 GHz (this is not great if you are a gamer). This tablet throttles when using max frequency for a long time, so, to save battery and keep it cooler I tweaked the CPU to run slower.
- Tweaked I/O schedulers to use deadline governor and read ahead cache to 640 kb (used benchmarks to get to this value).
- Force encryption disabled (to avoid applying ionioni script after flashing). Still needs to format data partition. You can encrypt your data partition later through Configuration -> Security user interface.
- Implemented native init.d support (not su.d anymore and no need to root the main OS).
- Busybox updated.
- Rooted with Magisk by default ( you can use Magisk uninstaller to unroot).
- Debloated apps. I also deleted Lenovo User Experience Program which was asking for root privileges even when you don't opt in to the Lenovo UE Program at setup wizard. I find this behavior shady.
-Multi-window mode is available in Developer Options and needs to be activated by you. In this mode if an app is compatible with multi-window mode you can double-tap on its title bar to enable Window mode. This function was more transparent in Lollipop firmware but it is still there in Marshmallow firmware if you change the build type to userdebug instead of user in build.prop (that's how I enabled it in the Cooked ROM).
- There are also other tweaks in VM and KSM.
And that's it, I'm not trying to change a lot, only the fundamental issues. But I suggest some other tweaks up there.
Such a shame. I love my Yoga Tab 3 Pro. Great hardware. But the software. Thanx anyway for your work.
Very nice write up. Thanks.
joesnose said:
Very nice write up. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. Thanks to you, while learning about this hardware your username pops everywhere.
jahfaby said:
Such a shame. I love my Yoga Tab 3 Pro. Great hardware. But the software. Thanx anyway for your work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really, really sucks. Let's hope something interesting happens after these strange and recent updates.
CENTSOARER said:
V1: The zip name boot_mod_mm.zip is based on the latest boot IMG provided by Lenovo. You need to first uncompress and flash it using fastboot (this is not a TWRP flshable zip). If you are uncomfortable flashing, you can test it only by issuing "fastboot boot boot_mm_march20_mod.img" once uncompressed, or, if you feel fine using it you can flash it permanently by using the command "fastboot flash boot boot_mm_march20_mod.img". This boot IMG will only work with Marshmallow firmwares in both YT3-X90(FL).
FEATURES:
- Fixed RAM issues (swapiness, vfs_cache_size and low memory killer tweaks).
- Reduced zRAM size to only 128 MB.
- Tweaked interactive CPU scheduler to use other than min and max frequencies (but still responsive). This saves battery life.
- Max frequency capped to 2.08 GHz (this is not great if you are a gamer). This tablet throttles when using max frequency for a long time, so, to save battery and keep it cooler I tweaked the CPU to run slower.
- Tweaked I/O schedulers to use deadline governor.
- Force encryption disabled (it's unnecesary to apply ionioni script now). Still needs to format data partition. You can encrypt your data partition later through Configuration->Security user interface.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. Going to take it for a spin.
joesnose said:
Thanks for this. Going to take it for a spin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, please provide feedback and don't forget to wipe caches.
alquez said:
"No news here. All capable people interested on developing for this device are all done with Lenovo and their attitude against Open Source. Don't expect your situation to change."
https://github.com/intel/ProductionKernelQuilts this repository containts patches necessary to create base 3.14.55 and 3.14.64 uefi/cht-m1stable kernel tree. The same tree that was butchered by Lenovo in their OPEN_SOURCE "release".
Check this file https://github.com/intel/ProductionKernelQuilts/blob/master/uefi/cht-m1stable/ChangeReport.md and the WW24 part in the "YT3-X90F_ENG_S100265_1601281130_WW24_ROW" will become more clear
Quilt manual: https://elinux.org/images/7/74/Maintaining_Multiple_Android_Linux_Kernels_at_Intel.pdf
If someone would be looking for a good piece to start: the best would be to recreate 3.14.55 or 3.14.64 from the quilts, use the x86_64 defconfig and build a kernel which can be booted. In order to test this, the best solution is to repack TWRP with the new kernel and do "fastboot boot" without flashing, until it boots and the touch screen is working. There's no other way i'm afraid.
I have prepared complete photo documentation of UEFI Bios, i can share, currently moving to different google photos account. Its over 300 photos.
Please, set up a Discord channel if you want to proceed. The first month will be quite boring and daunting because it's going to be build -> repack -> boot -> rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my defense, when I wrote that sentence was after taking a peek on your github profile, I figured you were just done with the Yoga Tab 3 Pro. I am really, really glad you're still trying and I recognize you are very capable of changing things for this device. I appreciate the sources you link but I am afraid I am useless as a developer, partly because of a lack of time and partly because of a lack of adequate training. I will try to help as much as I can, though. Thanks for the post.
alquez said:
No worries, however if anyone is interested how to actually crunch this one: we have a working prebuild kernel which can be pulled of boot image, and we have a working TWRP, however it looks like TWRP wasn't actually built from source, but cooked using android kitchen so we're still missing a device tree, which in my opinion is a good place to start, because you can use prebuilt kernel to build recovery and lineageos/aosp (it's deprecated but we're talking about android 6 aka cm-13.0/lineage 13.0). If I can create a most basic device tree which is capable of building recovery from scratch useing binary kernel and modules, i'd say were' good, because the next part would be adding more binary blobs from the official software, and we can skip the kernel source part for now until we have lineageos build 13 working). I started experimenting on xiaomi latte tree because it wasnt split like Z00A. It's not gonna be a proper port but it should work from now (i think)
@joesnose did you cook or compile TWRP? It's important
Ok, I'm at the stage i have two folders. The one is unpacked working TWRP, the other one is unpacked compilation i'm building, which means im able to build TWRP from source with binary kernel, but it's not working yet. The goal is make the left one look like the right one by adjusting various parts in BoardConfig.mk and copying files.. If someone has right partition sizes for BoardConfig.mk that would be really helpful, the values i calculated suck and don'y boot yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhmmm, I've been there and took some notes with some "GNU shell Fu". What sizes are you using right now?
And regarding the WW part of the name I've noticed the recent updates are marked as WW17 opposed to WW28 which was the latest stable with any changes. Any idea why Lenovo used WW17 to update the Yoga Tab 3 Pro recently?
alquez said:
update, ive managed to boot vanilla android-x86 x64 6.0.1 build without touching the kernel yet and different TWRP (3.1.1.0) with kernel swap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Geez, I was excited because I read Ubuntu booted on this hardware but then I realized it was the Yoga 3 tablet but not the Yoga Tab 3, goddamnit. Keep up the good work!
alquez said:
Um Ubuntu 20.04 boots with working accelerometer so the screen rotation works + wifi, and probably audio i forgot to play youtube video, the stuff missing is battery, touchscreen and projector.
To test it you need to connect a usb hub using usb otg, put ubuntu and a keyboard in the hub, boot, and press f2 really fast if you haven't enabled slow boot yet. You can even boot
Xubuntu to ram and remove flash drive. It's a pc architecture after all and most of the processor related stuff is in the linux mainline since 4.11
Recently i was checking why the Windows 10 installer crashes on ACPI Error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I will have fun doing this kind of stuff at the end of the year. It must run swiftly with i3, provided you won't get touchscreen support.
alquez said:
Geting TS and a battery running is a mandatory, the next is the projector. The rest is pretty much working. I'm building generic celadon x86 atm and the beast is huge it's like 18% now after two hours on -j8 on i7. Maybe we can give this old monster a new life
edit:
And i need to add 480gb drive ;/
Code:
/dev/sdc1 229G 210G 6,7G 97% /home/android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am afraid those are the peripherals that will keep you in 3.14.55/64 Linux, at least for a while , unless you know something more (wouldn't be surprised).
Are those GB for source code or for cache? Both? Jesus... the thing is huge but reading the unpacked boot.img makes much more sense now.
It was ionioni who made the twrp for the device. I dont have the foggiest how he did it.
---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------
Wow! I missed lot, looks like you have made some serious progress here. very well done.
alquez said:
I contacted my friend and he told me to compare these two folders:
https://github.com/alquez/lenovo_yt...l/cht/arch/x86/platform/intel-mid/device_libs
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/tree/master/arch/x86/platform/intel-mid/device_libs
the new files in "lenovo tree" are the modules we're after, mostly and it's a place to start
I need to ask inioni about twrp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will guess it was ported from the Yoga Tab 2. I will edit this post soon.
alquez said:
Nice! There's big chance the modules are reused somewhere. We can compare these. I think the two folders in
https://github.com/alquez/lenovo_yt3_x90_osc/tree/master/kernel/cht/drivers/input/touchscreen
which are missing from vanilla tree are two separate drivers and one is for "any pen" driver. Can you ask someone porting modules recently
to help us refresh my memory
[edit]
I've got in touch with TeamBliss of BlissRoms , they are working on cherrytrail tree
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I couldn't confirm it was ported. A lot of posts were removed when XDA enforced the GPL measures to its developers.
About BlissRoms, it just makes sense they are working on Cherry trail. I hope you and those guys can achieve something soon. I mean, it's a 2 GB RAM device but the display, projector and dolby audio system are worth for a better fate than Lenovo's plans.
alquez said:
4GB of ram 4 cpu cores, Hardware virtualization support, fast gpu and fast emmc memory. It's a beast, way ahead of it's time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have the 2 GB RAM model, so my expectations are conservative. Anyway, don't believe I'm a hardcore user, so it's plenty enough for me, considering I won't even flash Google apps. I am now settled with Lollipop, since I need apps not getting killed by damn Doze. It is a shame how OEMs can limit a device like this one. Crond, init.d, bad zRAM, shell, even busybox... frequently the OS is crippled. I read somewhere Doze can be disabled in build.prop or something but one thing I just hate is the recents screen in Marshmallow firmware (my God, is terrible!) and can't be easily changed for something like OmniSwitch. I mean, for a mobile device you have an unusual architecture, why limit it further? Damn, I wish BlissRoms come up with a working build.
Hey, @alquez, have you tried Linux 5.7 on the tablet? I saw this article and seems like the touchscreen may work with the next mainline kernel release. I mean, right now is on RC7, should be stable enough to compile and try (I'd try it, but can't get to my workstations thanks to the virus).
EDIT: Ah... I was looking into my device and it comes with a HiDeep touchscreen (cat /dev/input/event3), the linked news is for the Goodix driver / devices. At least, I guess, it will attract others to this platform... anyway, I was wondering and also confused, shouldn't touch screen work with the hideep driver using this config already?
Thanks for the new feel.
This is great, glad to see a developer picking up this tablet. It's a fine machine with an unfortunately small user base and has never really seen any development apart from ionioni s efforts and he didn't even own one, lol.
Edit: *Thank for the new twrp * auto correct!
I love this device! For me it's the perfect device for vacation just because of the projector!
I am so happy that you guys are working on it again. the ram and display tweak works like a charme for me. Had to reset my background screen though
thx for all your help. As soon as you guys have light rom, i'll install it on my 2GB device.
hello how to flash your twrp please ?
can someone upload adb drivers for the yt3-x90f please ? because i try to flash in dnx fastboot mode but commands don't work, even "fastboot devices" don't show me the yoga tab 3 pro
Hi. I need some information and help. I'm a complete newbie to any of this android hacking.
I've had a Samsung S4 since 2013, came with Jelly Bean. Apps are no longer supported, and most new ones aren't allowed, but my S4 works too great to toss! -I took the plunge and recently updated to official KitKat... A downgrade that doesn't allow apps to write to SD cards, gps is dodgy now... -I stopped there, since I've seen too many horror stories from 5.0 updates, -so I know I've got to look elsewhere, and this forum seems the best place for this! -I'm hoping mine is one of the "supported S4's" here!
-Is my Samsung one of the "Galaxy S4 LTE-A" phones that you have a lot of potential updates for??
Mine is an Aussie phone currently with a 64mb SD card, and via the Droid Info App, here's what I know about it:
Model: GT-I9506 (ks01ltexx)
Manufacturer: samsung
Baseband Version: I9506XXUCNJ1
RIL Version: Samsung RIL v3.0
Build Number: KOT49H.I9506XXUCNJ2
Build Fingerprint: samsung/ks01ltexx/ks01lte:4.4.2/KOT49H/I9506XXUCNJ2:user/release-keys
Bootloader: I9506XXUCNJ2
Java VM: Dalvik 1.6.0
OS Version: Kitkat (4.4.2)
SDK: 19
CPU Architecture: ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
Board: MSM8974
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM 8974 (Flattened Device Tree)
Cores: 4
Clock Speed: 1190 MHz - 2265 MHz
Instruction Sets: armeabi-v7a, armeabi
CPU Features: swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt
CPU Governor: interactive
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-2587343
Kernel Architecture: armv7l
1) If this fits in with the 9506 models that are on this system, then which option is the best-working? -Least experimental? Please voice your opinions and experience!
-I'm hoping to get to at least OS 8 or 9 so that I can finally use the current covid government tracking apps (no joke!), and to keep my S4 viable for longer still, and, maybe stuff all working, battery holding, gps, phone, wifi, nfc... maybe access to the sd card by apps ;-) .
I notice there seem to be many routes like LineageOS, HavocOS, CrDroid... Official vs unofficial. For a newbie who's only messed around w APK's, I definitely need some advice
2) And lastly, how much space for these (Windows 10) programs and the chunks of "ROM's" that are needed? -Got to make sure I have plenty of room on my trusty laptop, I think!
3) For an expert, how long to complete all of the run(s)?
Thanks!!
Hi,
I tell you what I use and what is trending right now, than you need to do some digging to know how to do it.
You need first a custom recovery for your phone. This one will work for you, I have the same:
TWRP 3.1
Then a custom Rom, you can use this one, it's the most updated:
LineageOS 18.1
Try to see look for how to flash a Recovery (TWRP), then once that done, the other part is easy.
Good Luck.
himseslf said:
Hi. I need some information and help. I'm a complete newbie to any of this android hacking.
I've had a Samsung S4 since 2013, came with Jelly Bean. Apps are no longer supported, and most new ones aren't allowed, but my S4 works too great to toss! -I took the plunge and recently updated to official KitKat... A downgrade that doesn't allow apps to write to SD cards, gps is dodgy now... -I stopped there, since I've seen too many horror stories from 5.0 updates, -so I know I've got to look elsewhere, and this forum seems the best place for this! -I'm hoping mine is one of the "supported S4's" here!
-Is my Samsung one of the "Galaxy S4 LTE-A" phones that you have a lot of potential updates for??
Mine is an Aussie phone currently with a 64mb SD card, and via the Droid Info App, here's what I know about it:
Model: GT-I9506 (ks01ltexx)
Manufacturer: samsung
Baseband Version: I9506XXUCNJ1
RIL Version: Samsung RIL v3.0
Build Number: KOT49H.I9506XXUCNJ2
Build Fingerprint: samsung/ks01ltexx/ks01lte:4.4.2/KOT49H/I9506XXUCNJ2:user/release-keys
Bootloader: I9506XXUCNJ2
Java VM: Dalvik 1.6.0
OS Version: Kitkat (4.4.2)
SDK: 19
CPU Architecture: ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
Board: MSM8974
Chipset: Qualcomm MSM 8974 (Flattened Device Tree)
Cores: 4
Clock Speed: 1190 MHz - 2265 MHz
Instruction Sets: armeabi-v7a, armeabi
CPU Features: swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt
CPU Governor: interactive
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-2587343
Kernel Architecture: armv7l
1) If this fits in with the 9506 models that are on this system, then which option is the best-working? -Least experimental? Please voice your opinions and experience!
-I'm hoping to get to at least OS 8 or 9 so that I can finally use the current covid government tracking apps (no joke!), and to keep my S4 viable for longer still, and, maybe stuff all working, battery holding, gps, phone, wifi, nfc... maybe access to the sd card by apps ;-) .
I notice there seem to be many routes like LineageOS, HavocOS, CrDroid... Official vs unofficial. For a newbie who's only messed around w APK's, I definitely need some advice
2) And lastly, how much space for these (Windows 10) programs and the chunks of "ROM's" that are needed? -Got to make sure I have plenty of room on my trusty laptop, I think!
3) For an expert, how long to complete all of the run(s)?
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
You can find everything you need in my S4 Unified Collection & Guides.
Follow the "Clean Install Custom ROM" Guide step by step and choose a ROM for your variant at Recommended ROMs section.
Reading and trying to digest this stuff now.
-A quick question: by the wording, I gather that one would use TWRP to back-up the current OS and all that is on your phone (so, if necessary, the current one can come back on)?
-One more: I gather from ruadus, that my phone is one of those 9506 TLE-A phones that these posts all talk about, so that I can go forward?
Thanks!
himseslf said:
Reading and trying to digest this stuff now.
-A quick question: by the wording, I gather that one would use TWRP to back-up the current OS and all that is on your phone (so, if necessary, the current one can come back on)?
-One more: I gather from ruadus, that my phone is one of those 9506 TLE-A phones that these posts all talk about, so that I can go forward?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Yes, you can use TWRP to Backup and Restore current OS and all that's inside the phone. (move the backup to an SDCard or to external storage)
- Yes, you can go forward. You can find the latest version of everything you need in my Collection & Guides I linked above.
Retrial said:
- Yes, you can use TWRP to Backup and Restore current OS and all that's inside the phone. (move the backup to an SDCard or to external storage)
- Yes, you can go forward. You can find the latest version of everything you need in my Collection & Guides I linked above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
I've looked at your Collection & Guides page, and I can find downloads for "ks01lte" (like https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1899786940962577903).
Mine says it's a "ks01ltexx".
-I can't find any info online as to thee difference between ks01ltexx and ks01lte, so...
1) -Will the ks01lte-labelled files (programs) of yours also work for the "xx" that I have?
2) Lastly, I now have access to an old windows 7 32-bit laptop w more diskspace (but only 1gb of ram) that I could try to use as the mainframe for Odin, etc. -This older machine will work OK for that??
Thanks again for your taking the time to help!
himseslf said:
Thanks!
I've looked at your Collection & Guides page, and I can find downloads for "ks01lte" (like https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1899786940962577903).
Mine says it's a "ks01ltexx".
-I can't find any info online as to thee difference between ks01ltexx and ks01lte, so...
1) -Will the ks01lte-labelled files (programs) of yours also work for the "xx" that I have?
2) Lastly, I now have access to an old windows 7 32-bit laptop w more diskspace (but only 1gb of ram) that I could try to use as the mainframe for Odin, etc. -This older machine will work OK for that??
Thanks again for your taking the time to help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I believe ks01lte will work. is it the model I9506? if it is so it will work.
I don't see why it won't work with your Win7, maybe it will be slow, just stop any unnecessary program running to avoid crashing your machine.
himseslf said:
Thanks!
I've looked at your Collection & Guides page, and I can find downloads for "ks01lte" (like https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1899786940962577903).
Mine says it's a "ks01ltexx".
-I can't find any info online as to thee difference between ks01ltexx and ks01lte, so...
1) -Will the ks01lte-labelled files (programs) of yours also work for the "xx" that I have?
2) Lastly, I now have access to an old windows 7 32-bit laptop w more diskspace (but only 1gb of ram) that I could try to use as the mainframe for Odin, etc. -This older machine will work OK for that??
Thanks again for your taking the time to help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As ruadus said, these files will work fine for your variant.
Odin is portable and small program, no need installation or any special hardware to work. You will be fine.
Just follow the steps on my guides, if u have any other question don't hesitate to ask
Ok, so I'll be starting pretty soon.Am using a WIN 7 machine that I have kicking around,because it has a lot of empty disk, so that I can store the back-up copy of my Samsung S4 I9506 ks01ltexx phone.
-I've got ODIN on my PC and it seems to come up fine. Got the combo bootloader+modem tar file and the TRWP tar file also downloaded... -Haven't yet dragged down the updating OS file yet.
-I've downloaded the Samsung USB driver, but haven't installed it since the phone loads instantly on the laptop w the current driver...
So,if I'm correct, my first step should be to get TWRP onto my PC,and (via ODIN) then onto the S4, and then use TRWP to back it all up to my PC?
-Or should I follow the order of the steps in the guide and do the Bootloader and Modem "flash" first and then follow w TRWP??
Thanks!
himseslf said:
Ok, so I'll be starting pretty soon.Am using a WIN 7 machine that I have kicking around,because it has a lot of empty disk, so that I can store the back-up copy of my Samsung S4 I9506 ks01ltexx phone.
-I've got ODIN on my PC and it seems to come up fine. Got the combo bootloader+modem tar file and the TRWP tar file also downloaded... -Haven't yet dragged down the updating OS file yet.
-I've downloaded the Samsung USB driver, but haven't installed it since the phone loads instantly on the laptop w the current driver...
So,if I'm correct, my first step should be to get TWRP onto my PC,and (via ODIN) then onto the S4, and then use TRWP to back it all up to my PC?
-Or should I follow the order of the steps in the guide and do the Bootloader and Modem "flash" first and then follow w TRWP??
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can just take backup of ur personal files (if you have any) from your device to your PC. No need TWRP for that.
Doesn't matter if you will flash first or later Bootloader & Modem. Just follow the steps in the guide if you are unsure for something.
Retrial said:
You can just take backup of ur personal files (if you have any) from your device to your PC. No need TWRP for that.
Doesn't matter if you will flash first or later Bootloader & Modem. Just follow the steps in the guide if you are unsure for something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks (have already backed up my 20GB of pictures and SMS, etc.), but I just want to make sure I can back up the current "working" OS, and be able to put it all back the way it was, if something just doesn't work at the moment after my upgrade attempts. I understand that I'd need TWRP for that, correct? -Which can still be done in the order your guide suggests?
Thanks
himseslf said:
Thanks (have already backed up my 20GB of pictures and SMS, etc.), but I just want to make sure I can back up the current "working" OS, and be able to put it all back the way it was, if something just doesn't work at the moment after my upgrade attempts. I understand that I'd need TWRP for that, correct? -Which can still be done in the order your guide suggests?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, if you want to backup your OS with data and all these, use TWRP and put the backup into an external storage like sd card or into your pc. If u ever want to restore just go to TWRP, chose Restore and select the backup file.
Retrial said:
Oh yeah, if you want to backup your OS with data and all these, use TWRP and put the backup into an external storage like sd card or into your pc. If u ever want to restore just go to TWRP, chose Restore and select the backup file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks again !
Just to get a bit more info: I'll necessarily have to backup my S4 to my laptop's disk (via TWRP). -Apparently the usual is to an SD, but won't have that.
I've googled,and have seen that (at least a couple years ago), I'd need to run something called ADB (Android Debug Bridge) on my PC and droid to allow for that. -And with that and TWRP, I can do a safety backup of the current OS, etc. directly to my PC (and if necessary, put that older OS back on my S4 w ADB).
An example web blog is: https://nerdschalk.com/twrp-backup-pc-adb/
-I didn't see mention of ADB usage in here; is it still necessary as an "add-on", or is it already taken care of in the newer versions of TWRP, Odin, etc?
Thanks!!
Hi,
I've never done that before, I usually use my SDCARD.
Did you follow the steps on the link you shared? What was the issue?
You can go to the TWRP thread to ask more question if you're having probelm.